Topic 2 Some aspects of British university life

A university in Great Britain is a place of higher education to which young men and women may go after finishing the course at a high school, that is, when they are about eighteen years old.

It is true that most students go to a university to study some special subject or group of subjects, knowledge of which will make it possible for them to earn their living as doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, etc. But it is recognized that a university must do more than supply the facts of medicine, law, engineering or whatever a man may have to do or teach: it must train its students in such a way that they themselves will always be eager to search for new knowledge and new ideas.

Of the full-time students now attending English universities three quarters are men and one quarter women. Nearly half of them are engaged in the study of arts subjects such as history, languages, economics or law, the others are studying pure or applied sciences such as medicine, dentistry, technology, or agriculture.

The University of London, for instance, includes internal and external students, the latter coming to London only to sit for their examinations. Actually most external students at London University are living in London. The colleges in the University of London are essentially teaching institutions, providing instruction chiefly by means of lectures, which are attended mainly by day students. The colleges of Oxford and Cambridge, however, are essentially residential institutions and they mainly use a tutorial method.

This tutorial system began at Oxford and Cambridge, where each college is a world of its own, with the students in residence, and they can easily appoint tutors to look after each student individually. The system is also used to some extent in the other universities to supplement lectures. Generally speaking there’s one member of the teaching staff for every eight student in the universities. The tutorial system brings the tutor into the close and personal contact with the student. The colleges of Oxford and Cambridge, being residential, are necessarily far smaller than most of the colleges of the University of London.

Education of University standard is also given in other institutions such as colleges of technology and agricultural colleges, which prepare their students for degrees or diplomas in their own fields.

The three terms into which the British University year is divided are roughly eight to ten weeks. Each term is crowded with activity. The students have vacations between the terms.

A university usually has longer holidays than a school, and in England, in addition to the long summer holiday, which lasts three or four months, there are a few weeks at Christmas and Easter during which the students can go home. Many of them arrange to travel in July, August and September, partly for pleasure and partly for study. The students of some universities, who have to earn the money to pay for their education, spend the summer in doing various kinds of work. But it is not always easy to find employment.

If a person has a London degree, that means he has graduated from the University of London. A person studying for a degree at a British university is called an undergraduate; one who has taken a degree is called a graduate. B.A. or B.Sc. stands for Bachelor of Arts, or of Science, the first degree. M.A. or M.Sc. denotes Master of Arts, or of Science. One can become a B.A. after three years of hard study, and an M.A. at the end of five years.

Life at a university is not all hard work. In fact at some universities in England and America success in sports and games seems almost as important as success in studies and it is considered a high honour to be chosen to play for one’s university at cricket or football. Students of Oxford and Cambridge meet at almost every kind of sport, including tennis, running and jumping. And sometimes there are sports meetings between American and British universities.

Exercises:

Ex.1 Multiple-choice questions. Choose the right answer

A 1 Arts subjects include (languages, history, psychology).

2 Applied sciences include (dentistry, literature, technology).

3 The University of London includes ( internal, foreign, external) students.

4 Many English students arrange to travel in summer for ( pleasure, study, getting sunburn).

5 Success in (sports, drama, games) seems almost as important as success in studies.

B 1 A person studying for a degree at a British university is called a(n) (graduate, post-graduate, undergraduate).

2 One can become a B. A. after ( five, six, three) years of hard work.

3 A university is a place of (higher, primary, secondary) education.

Ex.2 Be ready to speak on the following topics

Aims of universities, the subjects the students study at a university, the arrangement of English universities, the tutorial system, terms, holidays, degrees, sport and public activities of universities students.

World – class education for all

The Open University was founded by a Royal Decree from the Queen of Great Britain in 1969 and has become a world leader in correspondence study.

More then 2 million people have completed the University’s course. Prince Charles, Speaker of the Chamber of Communities of great Britain Betty Buthroyd, former prime-minister of Great Britain Wilson and other prominent state and public figures are among those with honory doctorates from the University. The Open University received the Queen’s Charter. The World Association of Education in Vancouver has recognized the university as the largest educational project of the twentieth century.

The program of the Open School of Business gives the opportunity to receive a Professional Certificate in Management – the first step in professional training ( which can be fulfilled in one-and –a –half years, passing three course-modules), Professional Diploma in Management – corresponding to a Bachelor’s degree (1.5 – 2 years, four courses), and an MBA – Masters in business Administration – a higher internationally recognized degree for managers ( 2 years, courses taught in English).

The teaching method is specially designed to facilitate independent study. Situations and talks are conveyed on audio and video cassettes by leading managers from different firms, famous economists and scholars. Instruction is in Russian. The Russian translation and adaptation was arranged by the Open University. All course work and exams are checked by certified tutors in the University. No less than 30% of course work is sent to the Open University’s Head Quarters in Great Britain for monitoring.

Information about graduates is published in the appropriate data bases for personnel resources in European management.

The British fund “Know – How” finances the program for developing courses in the countries of the CIS. The cost of the course is therefore notably lower than in West European centres. For comparison purposes: the cost of a course for middle management in the framework of a West European business school ranges from 4-5 thousand US dollars. The cost for those Belarussian citizens selected for the first course will be 680$, and for each subsequent course 450$.

At the present time , there exist 250 centres of the Open University in Europe and 38 centres in the CIS. Enrolment has been conducted in Minsk since 1993. More than 400 people have completed the course of study.

Exercises:

Ex.1 ACompare two ways of getting education: studying at a day-time department and at a correspondence department. Which is more available? Is it more difficult to study at a day-time department?

B Compare the English and Belarussian systems of studying by correspondence.

Ex.2 Discuss in pairs

1 When did the existence of the Open University start?

2 Is it famous throughout Britain?

3 In what way did it become available for Belarussians to study in the Open school of Business?

4 Do you consider the teaching method very instructive?

5 Do students go to Britain while passing their exams?

6 Are the courses financed by the state?

7 Do centres of the Open University exist only in Europe?

8 Has enrolment for studies in the Open University of Great Britain been conducted for a long time?

9 Would you like to receive a professional Certificate in Management ? What opportunities would it open for you?

Education

The United Kingdom has three systems of state education – one for England and Wales, one for Northern Ireland, and for Scotland. Each system is run by its own department of education, which works closely with local elected education authorities. In 1990, a national curriculum was introduced in schools in England and Wales to ensure that pupils are taught certain basic facts and skills.

All British children between the ages of 5 and 16 are required by law to go to school. Generally, pupils attend primary school until they are 11 years old, and then they go on to secondary school. There are several types of secondary schools. Some students go to grammar schools, which provide a preparatory education for university. Some attend schools that stress a more general, technical, or vocational education. However, most students attend comprehensive schools, which provide all types of secondary school education.

Most schools in the state system are free. About 95 per cent of all schoolchildren attend primary and secondary schools supported by public funds. The rest go to independent schools. The independent schools are private schools supported by fees paid by parents, and by private gifts of money. There are several types of independent schools. The most famous of them are the English public schools, which provide a secondary school education. Although they are private schools, they are called public because the earliest of these schools were established for poor children.

The United Kingdom has about 45 universities. The government tries to see that any student who has the ability to get a university education has the opportunity to do so. More than 90 per cent of students at universities have all or part of their educational expenses paid by private or public funds.

More than 25 new British universities have been chartered since 1950. Many of them have excellent programmes in science, social studies and other fields. Yet the competition among students for entrance into the UK's oldest universities remains keen.

Oxford University was founded in the 1100's, and Cambridge University was founded in the 1200's. They have a greater reputation than other universities because of their age, traditions, and high standards of scholarship. The University of London is the UK's largest university.

In addition to the universities, the UK has many colleges that specialize in art, business studies, teacher training, and technical subjects.